Noah Richler Wins B.C. Award For Canadian Non-Fiction

Noah Richler has claimed one of Canada's largest literary prizes - the British Columbia Award for Canadian Non-Fiction - for his literary atlas of Canada, This Is My Country, What's Yours?

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell along with Keith Mitchell (see photo left) presented Richler with the $25,000 prize today in Vancouver at a ceremony that also celebrated the three other finalists for the award.

The British Columbia Award for Canadian Non-Fiction is the only national literary award to originate in B.C. and it is one of the largest awards for Canadian non-fiction in Canada. Presented annually, the award was established by the British Columbia Achievement Foundation, an independent foundation endowed by the Province to celebrate excellence and achievement,

"This award recognizes the power of imagination and eloquence in inspiring national culture and identity," said Campbell. "Mr. Richler, and indeed all the finalists, have made a valuable and permanent contribution to this country through their works of non-fiction."

The jury cited Richler's This Is My Country, What's Yours? (McClelland & Stewart) for how it "reflects upon Canadian identity and sense of place through a sustained examination of the role played by writers of fiction in nation-building. Richler's travels around our literary landscape reveal a variety of expression that matches the geographic and political diversity of modern-day Canada. The book is not a critique of Canadian writing so much as it is a window onto Canadian writing in the present day."

The other finalists for this year's award were Marian Botsford Fraser for Requiem for My Brother (Greystone Books), Gerta Moray for Unsettling Encounters (University of British Columbia Press), and Dragan Todorovic for The Book of Revenge (Random House Canada).

"Once again, the quality of work represented by the finalists has been outstanding," said Keith Mitchell, Chair of the British Columbia Achievement Foundation. "Literary non-fiction in Canada is a vital genre, and it's a privilege to see it so well executed."

The independent jury panel for the award was also introduced today: Jean Barman, multiple prize-winning author and UBC professor emeritus; David Mitchell, historian, media commentator, former politician, and current University of Ottawa vice president of university relations; and Max Wyman, renowned cultural commentator and former president of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.